Sorry, since the automatic upload function of the website has failed, the update has been a bit chaotic these days, because the old cat may not be able to go online when the update is due. The old cat tries to overcome it, try to find a machine, and if it doesn't work, find an Internet café...... ）

"Xiang Xiaoqiang?" Sacra repeated in amazement, "Is this his name?" ”

"This person ......" Miss Nalan turned her head excitedly, smiling and shaking her index finger slightly, "...... You can't handle it. …… I'll do it myself. ”

She pushed the table, stood up, and paced excitedly around the room, the plan in her head beginning to brew......

……

Nanjing Forbidden City, Fengtian Temple.

Fengtian Hall is the main hall of the first three halls of the Forbidden City in Nanjing, that is, the commonly known as the "Jinluan Palace", and the "Taihe Palace" of the Forbidden City in Beijing is modeled after it.

In the past, it was the place where hundreds of officials of the Ming Empire went to court, and now it is the main indoor place for major celebrations, the emperor to meet important people, and to hold important events and celebrations.

Today, Fengtian Hall is open to welcome guests again, the mercury lamp erected above illuminates the hall as if it is day, several large braziers are burning very vigorously, the pine block "beep pop" sounds, although the space of the hall is large, but it is still warm and dry, the air is filled with the fragrance of pine wood and sandalwood, it is very comfortable, very elegant.

This time, Her Majesty fell ill very suddenly, even a little strangely, and was to attend a royal charity auction in the evening, and suddenly announced that she was ill in the morning.

Zhu Yourong is also a star in the royal family of various countries, beautiful appearance, talented, and proficient in English and French foreign languages, when she was a princess in the past, she often represented the Ming Dynasty on diplomatic visits, and often participated in various public activities in China, and her health has always been very good, and she has never had a "sudden illness".

Moreover, the royal family does not seem to have the slightest intention of handling this matter in a low-key manner, and deliberately chose this grand venue to hold a press conference, as if this is not enough to show that the royal family attaches great importance to the press.

Of course, the owners, editors-in-chief, and reporters of the major newspapers are very satisfied, after all, there are not many opportunities to enter Ouchi for interviews.

It's also good news. Zhu Yourong has many followers both at home and abroad. As long as it is her news, it must be a hot item in major newspapers.

For thousands of years, royal secrets have always been the most interesting thing for the small people, but in the past, they didn't dare to talk about it casually, but now it's okay, there are both radio and newspapers, and it's really enjoyable to report it openly. And the current Ming Dynasty newspapers are not like Japanese newspapers, involving the imperial family, some can write and some can't, the Ming Dynasty is that as long as what you write is not unconstitutional, no one can control. Nanjing's major newspapers generally have a "royal section", and if anyone digs up any inside information about the royal family, especially romantic affairs, the sales volume of the day will be doubled. If it is a relatively popular member of the royal family, such as Zheng Yuxuan, there will be paparazzi who carry camera tripods and ambush around the mansion and frequently frequented places, waiting for opportunities**.

Although the Ming Dynasty has only been "constitutional" for more than 20 years, and has not yet had universal suffrage like Britain and the United States, the political arena is still full of party contention and chaos, but public opinion is very powerful. Since the 19th century, the people of the Southern Ming Dynasty began to learn from the West to run newspapers. In addition, the Ming Dynasty did not have the literary prison tradition of the Qing Dynasty, and it has never been criminalized with words, and the former "Qingliu" has become the chief writer of major newspapers. By now, private newspapers and radio stations have become extremely developed, and Ming Dynasty newspapers, like French newspapers, have become a very important political force.

Nearly 100 reporters gathered in the center of the hall, setting up magnesium lights, tripods, large cameras, and many reporters holding pens and notebooks, recording rapidly. From time to time, the magnesium lights flashed "bang, bang", and puffs of white smoke came out.

Directly below the throne of Jinluang was a walnut pulpit, on which the white light of a mercury lamp poured down. An old man in a suit and leather shoes, with gray hair and kind eyes, stood behind the podium, quietly drinking water and listening to a question from a reporter in the audience with a smile.

“…… So, since the royal family has canceled His Majesty's charity auction tonight, is it ......"

"Let me emphasize again," the old man said with a smile, and suddenly there were a few more flashes of magnesium light, "Your Majesty's charity auction tonight has not been canceled, only Your Majesty's attendance tonight has been cancelled." The auction still has to be held normally. His Majesty also explained during his illness that the children in the orphanage still need winter clothes, and the poor people in the almshouse still need food, so the auction must be held. ”

"Lord Liao," the reporter said unrelentingly, "you are the spokesman of the royal family, and you can speak to us on behalf of Your Majesty." Since you said that Your Majesty's jade body is fine, it is indeed not serious, how can it affect the activities at night? Please also ask the adults to clarify one or two. ”

Lord Liao smiled:

"Although this official is a spokesman for the royal family, he is not a doctor. The cancellation of the evening activities was recommended by the Royal Doctor. As we all know, there are many diseases that are not serious, but rest is important. Her Majesty herself did not wish to cancel her attendance, and she was eager to meet with you. Because she knew that because of her presence, the atmosphere at the auction might be better, that there might be more people bidding generously, and that the orphans and the poor would get more help...... But after the persuasion of the imperial doctor, His Majesty also understood that her health did not only belong to herself, but also to the entire Ming Empire and all the people. Therefore, in the future, only by taking care of your body can you better benefit the Ming Dynasty and the people of the Ming Dynasty. ”

Lord Liao's mouth was like smeared with honey, his eyebrows were kind, and his reading glasses reflected the light in the magnesium lamp. The reporters below are all shorthanding, and there are several newspaper cartoonists who are sketching cartoons on the spot.

Then, the scene became noisy again, and the reporters scrambled to ask questions.

"Okay, the one on the left in the second row, please."

"Lord Liao, I am a reporter from Jinling Business Daily, can you tell me what disease Your Majesty is suffering from?"

Lord Liao smiled slightly:

"This is a question that has been asked since the beginning. As I said, I have no comment. ”

There was a lot of snickering and whispering, and the empress's illness was exaggerated and mysterious.

"Yes, this gentleman, please."

Lord Liao motioned to a tall foreigner in the back row to ask a question.

The foreign reporter stood up, bowed slightly, and said a string of English with a smile. The royal translation was translated into Chinese almost at the same time:

"Lord Liao, I am a correspondent of The Times in Nanjing, and three years ago, when His Majesty was studying in the UK, I had the honor to take a photo with His Majesty, who was still Princess Yong'an at that time......

Many people turned their heads to look at him, and Lord Liao also smiled and bowed slightly.

“…… At that time, Her Royal Highness Princess Yongan had been preparing to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the "Queen Mary" cruise ship at the invitation of Her Majesty the King and Queen, but she resigned the day before due to ill health...... May I ask Lord Liao, is there any connection between Your Majesty's jade body infection today and that 'discomfort' three years ago? ”

All the reporters whispered, they didn't know that His Majesty had played such a play in the UK back then, and some people were already speculating whether there was any medical history.

Lord Liao smiled:

"This is what everyone has been thinking about...... I specifically asked His Majesty's Chief Imperial Physician before. This imperial physician has been in charge of His Majesty's health since he was a child. As far as he knew, His Majesty had never suffered from any long-term or chronic illness. Therefore, His Majesty's jade body infection three years ago has nothing to do with today's time. …… Okay, the middle one, please. ”

A tall, thin man stood up, his eyes shining brightly, and he grinned, revealing his white teeth. He said in a loud voice:

"Lord Liao, my surname is Tumen, and I am a reporter for Daqing Daily......"

The hall "boomed" and everyone turned to stare at the tall and thin man, guessing if he was a prank or something.

Almost at the same time, the surrounding magnesium lights flashed "bang", and the hall was suddenly filled with smoke.

In the noise, Lord Liao didn't speak, and after the initial surprise passed, he stared at the person below carefully, looking at him, trying to see from his face what this sentence meant, real or false.

Tumen didn't shy away either, grinning, staring at Lord Liao's gaze very defiantly.

Almost everyone in the hall was speculating and asking, only the two of them stared at each other quietly.

……

Daqing Daily, the official newspaper of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. It is also the only newspaper in the entire Qing Empire now.

A large empire of more than 300 million people, until the 30s of the 20th century, there is only one radio station and one newspaper.

The newspaper was empty and false, and it was a propaganda tool of the Manchu court, relying on forced subscriptions to ensure circulation. In the Northern Qing Dynasty, where the per capita income was only one-sixth of that of the Southern Ming Dynasty, the price of this newspaper was four times that of the same newspaper in the Southern Ming Dynasty.

A peasant whose entire family is illiterate is forced to spend a fraction of their income and subscribe to several copies of the Daqing Daily. If there are several people in the family, you have to order a few servings. If you don't order, you will come to the house and tie them up.

It's such a newspaper. Its international reputation is worse than that of Pravda.

……

In front of a large number of Chinese and foreign reporters, in front of the cameras of the whole world, what should the spokesman of the Ming royal family say?

If the Praetorian Guards were to take it on the spot, or expel it, they could continue to show their tough attitude towards the Qing. But Daqing Daily is also a newspaper, and its reporters are also reporters, and he is not allowed to ask questions or speak to arrest and expel people, which contradicts Daming's consistent image of press freedom.

If he were asked to ask questions, like other reporters, it would be tantamount to giving the "Great Qing" newspaper the same status as other countries. How did the Ming Empire and the Ming Imperial Family, which had not recognized the "Qing Dynasty" for three hundred years, deal with themselves?

A co-servant officer on the side quietly ran out. A moment later, several men in black clothes and top hats poked their heads at the entrance of the main hall.

There was another uproar in the group of reporters, and the "bang" spotlight flashed at the black-clothed people again, and they hurriedly retreated outside.

The reporter of "Daqing Daily" glanced at the door contemptuously, grinned again, and looked at Lord Liao very provocatively, deliberately waiting for the other party to speak first.

……

Lord Liao took a sip of water, pulled down his face and said:

"Mr. Tumen, since you are a puppet Qing person, and this is the palace of the Ming Empire, this official will ask people to invite you out, and then give you a gift. But it's also a press conference, and you're a journalist. We have always had a tradition of respecting freedom of the press. So before I ask you out, I allow you to ask your questions. Okay, let's talk about it. ”

He put down his glass, staring at him sternly, his mind thinking violently about what questions he might ask.

"Lord Liao," Tumen asked, raising his tone and splitting his head, "I have every reason to suspect that your pseudo-Ming royal family is deceiving you. Zhu Yourong, the puppet empress of the Ming Dynasty, is not sick at all! ”

……

As soon as the words came out, the whole hall was in an uproar. Already a few reporters from foreign newspapers had quietly instructed their followers to hurry to the telegraph office to occupy the window.